After the Woods
by ktrhyne
Summary: Victor Creed has an itch that needs scratching...but that complicates his life more than he thought. This ficlet is a Victor-centric spinoff of my series, occurring directly after the story "Home in the Woods." Rated M for adult sexual content; mature readers only, and warning that Sabretooth can be so hot he fogs up your screen.
1. Chapter 1

AN: I do not own Marvel's X-men, its comics or characters, or films based on them, and I do not make any profit off of this story or its content and characters.

With Victor as main character, the story is a little graphic at times - be warned. This ficlet is a spinoff of a Logan-centric series I have written, which I recommend you read first, and I hope you enjoy my work. The series stories, in order, are: **Sensory** **Projections**, **The** **Island**, and **Home in the Woods**. Happy reading! And yes, I love your reviews and comments.

**Chapter 1**

The apartment door swung open suddenly, and Victor Creed's large body filled the doorframe.

"Baby? I'm home," he rumbled in a deep, seductive baritone.

"Victor!" A feminine voice called out from another room, followed closely by the sound of bare feet running on the hardwood floors. A lithe, curvaceous figure topped by a long chestnut tail of hair came into view, launching herself at him and colliding with his solid chest. Arms open, he caught her without even budging from the impact of her leap, and she immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and locked her legs at his waist. She attacked his mouth, plunging in her tongue to tangle with his as he cupped her bottom to support her, his clawed hands warm through the soft knit fabric of her dress.

She came up briefly for air. "Miss me?" he smirked, digging his claws into her ass a little bit so she felt their prickle against her skin.

In response, she unwound her legs and slithered down him to the floor, brushing herself across his front as she lowered to her knees and brought her hands onto his hips. "Mmm," she sighed, rubbing her cheek over his groin, where there was now visible straining against the front of his clothes. Her hands shot to the buckle of his belt to quickly unfasten it, undoing the fly of his pants immediately afterward. Reaching in and grasping his cock, she gently tugged the pants off his hips a little to expose him more fully.

Giving him a heavy-lidded look, she opened her mouth and licked him, grazing her tongue on his balls as she languidly pumped him with her hand. "I guess so," Victor chuckled, finally closing the door behind him.

She took his whole length between her lips now, carefully using her teeth before swirling with her tongue and plunging him to the back of her throat. Victor groaned and gripped her skull, his claws tangling in her dark, shiny hair and loosening it from its plait.

He exhaled as she sucked a little harder. "I thought I told you to be naked when I got home," he mumbled, arching his head back at the flood of sensation collecting in his crotch. "You better not be wearing any panties."

She sat back briefly on her heels in response to this, pulling off of him and grabbing the hem of her dress with both hands to whip it off her head, revealing her completely naked body beneath. She put her hands on his buttocks as she devoured him once again.

"That's my girl," he whispered softly as she moaned around him, her eyes closed. "So wet for me. Don't suck me too much, Babe - you know I'm gonna fuck you in a minute."

She batted her eyelashes at him, giving him a naughty look as she increased her pace, bobbing her head up and down on him a little faster. She felt the muscles of his ass clench underneath her hands as he grunted with pleasure, then he dug his claws into her scalp, making her squeak a little as he eased her mouth off. "Bedroom. Now." he commanded, tearing off his signature black overcoat.

She darted down the hallway eagerly as he growled behind her, shedding the rest of his clothing as he went. He paused in the doorway to the bedroom, muscles flexing over his naked frame, his eyes raking over her white skin as she toyed with the curling ends of her hair, standing in the middle of the room and biting her lower lip.

Latching his hands onto her ass, he crushed her against him, his hardness pressing insistently into her belly above the soft triangle of brown hair between her legs. He tilted his head and ran his nose up her neck, scenting her arousal and excitement, and he raked his canines very lightly on her jaw, nipping her earlobe without breaking the skin.

"You want me to fill you up?" he asked in a quiet voice. She met his eyes and nodded, running her fingers through the mat of hair on his chest. Gripping her hips tightly, he lifted and tossed her onto the bed behind her, then crept toward her on all fours, showing his fangs as she gave a nervous giggle and scooted backward against the pillows.

He put his hands on her knees and spread them apart, his eyes riveted between them. Sinking down in front of her, he moved closer to drag his tongue across her most sensitive skin, inhaling deeply as he did so. "So ready for me," he said with a toothy grin, and blew on her gently. Lapping all over between her legs, he turned his head and bit the inside of her thigh, making her draw breath sharply, then swiped his tongue over the two bleeding puncture wounds.

They caught one another's eyes significantly, and after one more lick, he rose above her, scooping underneath her back to slide her farther down the bed. He held his cock in his hand as he rubbed her with the pad of his thumb, preparing her for him. She cleared her throat, a tiny noise, and he looked up to see her proffering a condom, which she'd just liberated from its foil packaging.

He made an incoherent sound, removing his claw-tipped hand from his member and allowing her to roll the rubber securely down him. She made a move to grab him and guide him inside her body, but she caught the scowl on his face and put her hands back down on the mattress on either side of her. He snarled satisfactorily as he rubbed his tip against her, then plunged completely in.

She gasped at feeling his full length, big and thick and stretching her wonderfully. He leaned forward, supporting his massive weight on his forearms as he began thrusting into her, nudging her thighs farther apart with his knees and encouraging her to wrap her legs around his waist. She complied, but this was still not deep enough, and he began making a low, guttural sound as he hitched her leg up high, resting the back of her knee on his shoulder and gripping her hip as he drove even more fully into her.

Her eyes were screwed tightly shut as she panted heavily, her whole body rocking with movement as he fucked her harder and harder. She started moaning, one hand drifting up to her breast to play with a nipple, her index finger circling the hard pink point. He uttered a growl that turned into a purr, nosing her fingers away and capturing her gently in his teeth, nibbling and sucking so much that she had goosebumps, and pushing in and out of her the entire time.

After a while, he could feel her starting to clench down around him, and he withdrew himself, her eyes snapping open as he gripped her hips and flipped her over, hauling her ass into the air and rising to his knees at the same time. Stroking her gently with one taloned digit, he shoved back inside of her, pulling her back toward his groin hard and relishing the sound of flesh smacking against flesh. He rubbed her ass with both hands, thrilling at her cries as she moaned his name.

As much as he loved mounting her like an animal, he took pleasure in changing their positioning on her yet again, so he pulled out and wrangled an arm underneath her waist, rolling onto his back and impaling her before she realized what was happening, her legs straddling him.

He kept his hold on her tight, to let her know that even if she was on top, he was the one in charge of their rhythm. She smiled, lifting her arms and running her fingers through her hair, knowing how much he loved watching her chestnut mane spill onto her naked body. Biting her lip again, she scratched her short fingernails through the hair across his ribs, pressing her palms down onto him to brace herself as he bucked up into her more strongly.

She came, her breath quick and choking, the sound a completely unnecessary indication of her orgasm as he detected the shift in her scent and the fluttering of her sensitive muscles around him. Grinning and showing off his fangs, he followed her, jerking and spasming hard inside of her as he completely expelled himself.

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With Victor's impressive healing factor, it usually took a few hours of fucking to slake his sexual appetite, and today was no exception. The frail was draped over his chest, exhausted and slightly sore after all his vigorous thrusting, her inner thighs raw and red from the friction of his hairy body. She was nuzzling one of his nipples, kissing and occasionally flicking her tongue over it, while her hand lazily massaged his testicles.

Victor closed his eyes, savoring the sensations as she scratched, tugged, and cupped his balls. He had almost fallen asleep when he heard her whisper, "Mister Creed?"

"What?" he growled, awake and annoyed. She lifted her body off of him, propped up on one elbow.

He scented a tinge of trepidation coming from her. "Did you want me to stay the night, tonight? You never said."

He lashed out at her with one clawed hand, halting it at the last second just in front of her, which made her flinch and tremble. He pressed his palm to her face, shoving her none-too-gently away from him. "Get out."

She jumped off the bed, slipping into the en suite bathroom/walk-in closet combination. He heard the toilet flush and water run, then a few minutes later she reappeared, her hair in a perfect chignon, makeup applied, wearing a cream silk blouse with navy dress pants and matching heels.

She started to walk out the bedroom door, then paused, looking at him stretched out on the bed, naked, with his hands laced together behind his head.

"What?" he asked in the same irritated tone.

He caught a flash of fear from her, at odds with her collected and coiffed appearance.

"It's just..." she started, trying to overcome her timidity at his imposing glare. "If you ever decide you want someone to live in, I'd do it. If it's just us two exclusively, you wouldn't have to wear the condoms. Or pay me as much."

Victor bared his fangs, his voice menacing. "Did you not understand me the first time? Get the _fuck_ out, Julie."

Julie's eyes widened at his use of her name and she hurried out, swinging her purse onto her shoulder and shutting the front door, unlocked, behind her.

He usually let her know ahead of time whether or not he wanted her to sleep over, but he hadn't said anything today, hence her question. She was angry at herself for breaking character, forgetting how much this pissed him off, causing him to revert to his normal intimidating personality instead of his more playful bedroom attitude. And of course, that had rattled her so much that she'd wanted to placate him, offering him the choice of having her there full-time, which clearly enraged him even more, despite the prospect of condom-free sex.

When her boss Shayna had told her back in March that they had a client who was looking for a recurring role-playing booking, she assumed he'd be a wealthy, pasty-skinned dweeb with a set of "Lord of the Rings" elf ears for her; she'd seen those before. Upon meeting Victor for the first time, more than six muscular feet of commanding masculine energy, her heart sank, waiting for him to reveal whatever undoubtedly kinky shit he'd ask to do to her, or her to him.

But instead, she'd been shocked at the incredibly simple scenario he wanted. It was always the same, the whole time he'd been engaging her: he comes in the door, she's overjoyed to see him, they screw. He didn't say whether she was supposed to be pretending to be his wife, mistress, little sister...and the one time she asked him, he'd just growled in response. He never called her by any name, including her own; often just stuff like "Baby," or occasionally, oddly, "Frail," which she didn't really understand. One time during climax he shouted something that sounded like a name, but she didn't catch it. _Maybe an ex-wife?_

Besides the fact that he was a mutant, with incredibly sharp claws and teeth, there was another catch - two, actually - in accepting this liaison with him. One was that he wanted her to permanently dye her regularly pale honey tresses a rich mahogany, instead of using a wig to achieve the look he wanted. She'd balked at this initially, since most other clients loved the fact that she was blonde, but Shayna informed her of the bonus he was willing to pay for this aspect of the roleplay, so she acquiesced. It took three different tries at the salon to get the right shade, going to Victor's apartment for him to silently appraise her after each coloring session, and he finally nodded when it met with his approval. He asked that she grow out her Brazilian wax, too.

The other request was that he could break her skin. She'd participated in light bondage and dom/sub before - basic handcuff, mouth gag, and whip setups - but the idea of bleeding purposely during sex had always sounded completely gross. She wasn't sure if it was better or worse that, rather than knife or needle play, he wanted to use his teeth. Julie was frankly surprised that Shayna even considered taking him on as a client, since her "companion service" was an operation with elegance and class, not some sleazy dominatrix dungeon.

But for the right price, apparently... Reluctantly, Julie had arrived at an acceptable fee with Shayna for the biting demand, predicting that Victor would back out when he saw the figure, but to her surprise he agreed, as well as promising to only break her skin once per meeting, and restrict himself to below the neck, only.

And she'd been a little sheepish to admit, even to herself, that she found she kind of liked it. Victor had a very, very big cock, knew how to use it, and could bring her to the brink of orgasm effortlessly and hold her there; the biting was a small distraction, a tipping point, and often the impetus for her riding a wave of pleasure with him as he exploded his hot seed into the condom.

_The condom. _She blushed red, embarrassed again at thinking about how she'd offered herself to him, as if she didn't know any better. She'd worked for Shayna for three years: too long to have any naïve Julia Roberts "Pretty Woman" illusions about her profession. Certainly it wasn't unheard-of for a client to inquire about a companion being available for a full-time or live-in commitment, usually temporarily, but only a deluded idiot would go around offering herself to the men as if she were pathetic and desperate. It was a good way to get fired.

Julie straightened her slacks as she exited the elevator, walking to the street to hail a cab. Fingers crossed, Victor would just forget about his annoyance and she'd arrive the next time he emailed her as usual without him saying anything either to her or to Shayna. As good as she was at her job, Victor was still her best customer by far, and to alienate a paying client was pretty stupid. _Dammit, Julie._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Victor settled himself back onto his bed, listening to Julie leave his apartment and close the door. He was ticked that she'd roused him from his drowsy state, but he'd fall asleep soon enough, and it wasn't like he truly needed the recovery time, not like the frail. He exhaled, thinking of how she'd called out his name over and over again when he made her come, squeezing around his dick inside her.

When he'd first started bringing Julie to his place for sex, he hadn't given a shit whether or not she climaxed as he took his pleasure. Obviously - she was a whore. An expensive one, but still... He'd realized a couple of things, however, as he continued taking her to his bed over several months: it was easy for him to get her to orgasm, for one thing, and the sex was better if he did, for another.

After years of terrorizing frails (women, prostitutes, it didn't matter) as he abraded their tender parts with his concrete body, he finally had a soft female who clung to him, wanting more, instead of screaming and defending herself against him - and although he found fighting back entertaining, this willingness had its good points. It was one of the only times he'd ever experienced that, save for the idyllic, sex-filled weeks he'd initially spent last fall with his mate, Tanya.

_Tanya_.

Though Tanya was robust and wiry instead of pliant and curvy, he'd enjoyed himself extremely in the time they'd had together after he claimed her at Jimmy's cabin. Her healing factor meant that he didn't have to hold himself back while they fucked, and he'd dragged his claws across her skin, watching her tissues heal themselves as she returned the favor by gouging tears in his own flesh. It had been a bloody celebration of being feral, that's for sure.

But after inundating her with his semen for just a couple of months, they'd discovered that she was breeding, her fertile belly growing swollen with his cub. As proud as he was of this, and as smug as little Spark's admiration made him feel by being a father figure, Victor found that he couldn't stand being at home, around a pregnant Tanya - the change in her scent was repellant to him, and her mood was frustrating and demanding.

Bowing to his instinct, he fled their mutual refuge, leaving her to gestate alone with her older cub. The house where he left them in the tranquil northeastern Canadian forest was fully equipped, there was a mid-sized town nearby, and Victor even left her a note and bank account details when he departed in the middle of the night - considerations he would never have previously thought about - and headed for his solitary apartment on the 65th floor of a Toronto high rise.

Once alone, his thoughts and desires returned to Lorelei, the Runt's wife. The glimpse he'd caught of her naked body the last night he was there was frozen in his memory, providing fodder for more than one deliberately rough self-pleasuring experience: one of his clawed hands gripping his dick hard enough to be almost painful, the other clutching a half-empty bottle of Jack Daniels.

Alone in the city, he'd roamed at night, of course, looking for distractions and entertainment. He worked his way through several drugged-out hookers, his healing factor protecting him from the litany of sexual diseases he could smell on them, and his claws and fangs left them mostly broken afterward, anyway.

He almost felt badly about that. He'd told Jimmy that he was over being a mindless killing machine, and that was pretty much true. He killed for money, but not just murder for the sake of watching the life drain out of a person. However, he was walking around feeling angry at the way things had ended with Jimmy, he was frustrated, he was horny, and, although he'd never admit it aloud, he was _lonely_. Gentle sex was something he'd never thought himself capable of before - taking and forcing were all he'd ever known. A handful of scrawny streetwalkers were not worthy of his respect, and he had no reason to regard them as anything other than available holes.

Then one night, he'd been walking near a light rail train station pretty late and heard a shriek, which cut off abruptly. Turning into a nearby alley, his enhanced vision caught sight of a small figure struggling with a larger, hooded assailant. The mugger wrenched a little purse out of the woman's hands, pushing her backward so that she fell on the ground, then he spun around to run away, striking Victor's big chest in surprise.

Before he could even articulate what he was about to do, Victor had ripped the man's throat open with one set of claws, the other set entangling in his hood and the hair beneath to yank the man's head backward, almost decapitating him completely. The violence was intoxicating to him, and he roared in delight. The would-be robber collapsed, blood spilled hot on Victor's fingers and wrists, and he glanced over at the woman on the ground, who was scrambling to her feet while squinting through the darkness to see what new altercation was taking place.

As Victor focused on her, he realized that she was pale and beautiful, with bouncy brown hair tied in a low ponytail over one shoulder. She was wearing some sort of polyester shirt-and-slacks waitress uniform, but the hideous outfit couldn't hide the fact that she was curvy, with high, firm breasts. The nose and eyes were all wrong - they looked nothing like Lorelei - but the sensuous mouth, in combination with the scent of her fear and tears and adrenaline in the air, charged Victor sexually and his heart rate increased.

He was on her in an instant, knocking her to the ground and tearing the fabric of her pants away from her body. Shoving his cock inside of her, he began rutting into her like the savage thing he was, belatedly wondering why she wasn't putting up a fight. He looked up, and saw that she must have struck her head on the asphalt when he jumped on her, because her eyes were lolled back in her head and she was clearly out cold. He could still hear her heartbeat, so he knew she wasn't dead, but watching her head flop around like a corpse's as he fucked her repulsed him instantly, his chest clenching as her appearance reminded him once again of Lorelei.

He'd leapt up and scaled the fire escape of the adjacent building, breathing heavily. He watched for an hour until some Good Samaritan, probably a cabbie on his way home to bed, found her and called an ambulance. Rattled, Victor had hid in the shadows completely silent until he had the chance to skulk home, his bloody skin hidden beneath the overcoat he carried balled in his hands.

After he got in his door that night, he stood in the shower with his bottle of Jack, watching the red-tinged water swirl around the drain, and he'd gotten an idea from the escapade with the Lorelei look-alike. Instead of tearing through worthless prostitutes, maybe he could find an actual bona fide escort - a pretty and clean woman who looked like Lorelei, and who he could even bring back to his home to screw. He considered the fact that, obviously, if he hired someone like that he would not be able to shred her the way he was used to...but he'd nodded his head sharply to himself, swigging his whiskey. He was up to this challenge. No contract mercenary work had come in for him for awhile, and he knew that he was just plain bored; he needed a new toy. Forcing himself to maintain a non-lethal pace so that he didn't break his new plaything would be just enough to keep him busy.

It was fairly easy for him to get a recommendation and find this Shayna woman, and he met her at a table in an upscale hotel bar; she didn't bat an eye at the sight of his pointy claws. She'd arched one perfect brow as he outlined for her what he was looking for: a feminine, demure woman with fair skin and natural breasts. _Had_ to be brunette. No dates, just sex, but someone who would not mind if things got a little bit rough - here he had winked and licked one of his fangs, to no reaction whatsoever from the tall, mocha-skinned Shayna.

She tactfully explained her fee structure, and suggested that they discuss the _physical_ parameters later, casting significant looks at his claws and teeth. She hummed thoughtfully and informed him with some certainty that she thought of someone who would fit his bill, except that she was a blonde. Perhaps if Mr. Creed were willing to pay in advance, and for a series of liaisons rather than just one, the hue of her hair could be altered?

Victor agreed quickly, hating how eager he sounded, but loving the image of a beautiful woman straddling his body, dark hair falling around bare white shoulders like a curtain while she rode him.

One small annoyance was that Shayna had a non-negotiable condom policy. He despised the latex sheaths, and because of his healing ability, he did not give a shit that he was completely incapable of putting one on himself. He only sulked briefly before agreeing to this stipulation. It would be preferable for the girl to smell like his seed, to see it on her, but he'd rather have his cock in her and encased in a condom than not at all.

At their next meeting, at Shayna's office, he got to meet this Julie, appraising her figure and skin and determining that she would work just fine for what he wanted. She dyed her hair, and the rich chestnut color on the soft tresses made his fingers itch to run his claws through them.

One thing he hadn't thought about was her clothing. The first time Julie arrived at his apartment in March, she was wearing the same type of thing that she'd worn to the meeting with Shayna: a crisp, fitted dress with stockings and heels, with her now-brown hair pinned up. He was disappointed: his mind's eye had been picturing the full-skirted sundresses that Lorelei favored while he was living at their house, the fabric swishing around her thighs and causing the scent of her musk to float around her in the air.

Julie could sense that something was amiss. "What's wrong?" she'd asked, her tone businesslike.

"It's your dress," he'd muttered, unfamiliar enough with women's fashion that he didn't really know how to say what he wanted, just that what she was wearing was _not_ right.

Julie had glanced down at her grey shift, then appraised him, thinking for a moment. "I've got this," she finally said, confidently. "You go out the door and come back in after a minute, just like you wanted."

He was a little indignant at how it seemed that this frail was telling him what to do, but he decided that he was hungry enough for sex to overlook this and give her suggestion a try. Standing in the hallway outside his own front door, he rocked back and forth a little on his heels in anticipation, then opened the door suddenly, slamming it shut behind him.

Julie had stepped out of the bedroom, hips swaying seductively, with her hair loose down her back and wearing nothing but one of Victor's button-down shirts. With only a single button fastened, he caught a tantalizing glimpse of the dark hair between her legs as she reached a hand up to run through her long chestnut locks.

"Oh Victor," she said in a sweet, quiet voice, giving him a little smile. "I've been waiting for you all day, Baby." She'd unbuttoned the shirt, letting it slip off her shoulders and fall to the floor, ghosting her fingertips over her nipples as the garment dropped.

Victor felt a surge of blood go straight to his groin, and he'd grinned wide as he stalked purposefully to her. "Come to Daddy, Frail," he growled.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Victor awoke early, the light streaming in through the window and hitting his pillow. He rolled over, breathing in the female scent of Julie that still clung to his bed linens, and decided that he needed more today. He'd tossed her out yesterday when she called him "Mister Creed" because he was so irritated, but before that he'd had an unformed idea that he was going to screw her again after his brief doze.

Grabbing his phone, he shot her a quick email message, then hit the button to dial a saved number.

"Hello?"

"Hey," he grumbled, waiting for her to recognize his voice.

Tanya paused, and her tone was guarded when she responded. "Hey."

He hoped that she'd offer more than that, but she didn't. "So...how're things?"

"Fine."

Victor curled his hand into a fist, piercing the flesh of his palm with his claws. "My cub?"

He could hear her rubbing her stomach through the connection. "Good. Healthy. One month to go."

"Spark?"

Tanya smiled. "He's actually at school."

Victor was shocked. "No shit?"

"Yeah. He asked to go, on his own. I gave them a long story about his health to explain his red eyes, and they bought it. He's happy there."

He grunted. "Good...so...need money?"

"No."

"Okay." Victor closed his mouth, trying to think of how to ask the thing he wanted to know: _Do you want me to come back when the little one is born?_ But he couldn't, so he just hung up, biting his lip to distract himself.

Padding naked toward the kitchen, he spotted Julie's dress from yesterday on the floor. He snapped it up, enjoying the aroma of her arousal that saturated the fabric, and the way this stirred things in his groin. He tossed the dress onto a chair so she could find it later and hang it in the closet with the others. He'd ordered a few dozen of the things online to stow here at his place, ready for when she came over.

Shayna had made it clear that if he was going to literally rip the girl's clothes off on occasion, he'd have to provide them, himself. Having her employees come and go from clients' homes elegantly dressed was an ironclad rule - it kept the level of sophistication up, for one thing, reminded the clients that these companions were worth the high sum they were paying, and avoided notice in the affluent neighborhoods. Victor hated the tailored suits and nylons that Julie always arrived in; they destroyed his Lorelei illusion. Most of the time, he just left his front door unlocked for Julie to let herself in and get changed right away, so that his first glimpse of her was just how he liked with the tumbling hair, bare feet, and flowing, touchable dresses.

Seeing her dressed as Jimmy's wife made it easier for him to pretend about himself, too. He wasn't Victor Creed, that fearsome assassin. He was a man with someone waiting at home for him; someone soft and sweet and attentive, whose gentle fingers willingly explored his body and found him desirable.

That had taken some time to get used to, initially. He'd so rarely had consensual sex partners in his decades of living, and many of the ones who'd lain with him voluntarily were "working girls" who he'd broken, or lionesses who did it for the pain, like Tanya. He didn't want to hurt Julie and ruin things, so he retracted his claws as much as he could, her blue-veined skin as thin as paper to him, and restrained himself to only biting her once every time she came over, her hot blood filling his mouth and fueling his lust. He had no idea how Jimmy went so long with that Siren writhing beneath him and not constantly marking her perfect body. If Lorelei were his, her neck would be fucking covered with the signs of his teeth, and he'd make sure she loved it.

He wasn't allowed to do that to Julie, but he didn't want to, anyway. She was just a doll, not the real woman of his desires, and one bitch walking the earth with the shadow of Victor's fang signature over her carotid was enough. _Tanya_. He hunched his shoulders unconsciously - their conversation hadn't gone that well on the phone. He picked up the object in question and saw that he had an email, a response from Julie saying simply, _See you at 5._

He scowled. He hated having to wait all day for sex when obviously he had emailed her because it was on his mind _now_. But he knew she still saw other clients, a fact that always made him want to jump out of his skin. The thought of sharing a woman simultaneously with other men was abhorrent, but the only alternative was for Julie to be his full-time, and that seemed like too much commitment. He'd left Tanya and come to this apartment to get away from sharing his space with a female. Though the thought of keeping Julie captive and naked in his home, always ready and available, was tantalizing. Maybe he could even make her cook for him, and then he wouldn't have to do it. _Now there's an idea..._

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Julie pressed the button to call the elevator and waited in Victor's lobby. Thankfully, she'd had time to stop at her place to eat a light dinner after her afternoon client booking, which was a ribbon-cutting luncheon at a museum with an elderly widower who was its esteemed donor. Her only chores were to smile and look beautiful, which she did with aplomb, deftly avoiding the old man's hand when it wandered from the small of her back down to her ass.

She'd found that she needed several days of recovery each time she saw Victor before any bedroom escapades with other clients. Not only was she just tired and sore, but the bite marks could be a bit off-putting and required time to heal. She filled her schedule instead with "arm candy" gigs, men who needed a discreet date for public appearances rather than sex.

Kissing her client on the cheek as she exited his town car after the luncheon, she'd bolted up to her apartment to heat up some chicken and vegetables, fuel that would sustain her for what was sure to be another marathon evening with Victor. She felt a clench low in her belly at the thought of his naked body. She was a professional, to be sure, and did not harbor romantic illusions about the men who paid her to sleep with them, but Victor was a work of art you'd have to be blind not to appreciate. Plus, he was one of the few clients with whom she never had to fake an orgasm.

She grabbed her purse and shawl-wrap, not bothering to change out of her floral tea dress since Victor always wanted her to wear specific clothing, or none at all, and she caught a cab to his apartment building.

Up on the 65th floor, Victor was staring out the window at the dark city below when he heard his front door open. His nose twitched, and he whirled around, startling Julie.

"What the fuck." He said it, a statement rather than a question, and he was standing in front of her in an instant, glowering.

She was confused, which progressed to scared when he reached up and grabbed her hair in a tail at the back of her head and yanked her closer to him.

"Did you come to me smelling like another man?" he demanded, his voice low.

Her eyes widened in shock. "I, um, I went to a lunch today with someone - just lunch. That's it. I can't smell anything."

Victor was mollified at hearing this, but only slightly. "Go shower. Now." He pushed her in the direction of the bedroom, then slashed with his claws as she walked away, ripping the dress off her body. "And put that thing in a trash bag when you're done." Julie nodded, picking up the shredded remains of her dress and hurrying to the bathroom.

She'd known that Victor had an excellent sense of smell: he didn't allow her to wear scented lotion or perfume when she came over. But she had no idea that he was able to pick up the nuances of other humans like that. _Must be part of being a mutant._ He was always gruff and imposing, but when he growled at her just now, he'd been downright terrifying, like a tiger. She didn't want to end the relationship with her most frequent client, so she made a mental note to always clean off before seeing Victor in the future.

Inside the bathroom, she stuffed the fabric into a plastic liner from the garbage can, along with her wrap and undergarments, and tied it shut. She was glad that her purse was a different one than what she'd been carrying earlier today - she would not have been able to toss the handbag and all its necessary contents.

Julie grabbed a tissue and wiped off her makeup before stepping into the shower, under the hot spray. She took Victor's bar of unscented soap and lathered up, rubbing the suds even in her hair, and scraping underneath her fingernails.

The room had steamed up when she heard the door open, then Victor stepped into the large shower stall behind her, naked. He ran one clawed hand gently down her back, and she made a real effort not to flinch, then he put his arms around her waist and turned her around, kissing her with a fervency that set her skin on fire, making her even hotter than the scalding water had.

He invaded her mouth, her tongue detecting a slight coppery tinge of blood that she didn't know belonged to her or to him, and she said nothing. He rubbed his erection against her leg and bit her lip, the blood hers for certain this time, and his chest rumbled with the sound of his low voice. "You're staying tonight."

She licked at the cut on her lip, her arms held tightly at her sides by his hairy biceps, and she nodded obediently. "Good girl," he murmured, before lifting her to his waist and stabbing his cock inside of her.

Julie wiggled and struggled, but he pressed her against the cold tiled wall of the shower and started thrusting, grunting as he did so. "Victor...Victor!" she whispered urgently. "Condom!"

He pushed into her a few more times, then stopped, pinning her to the wall with his body and his manhood, scenting her heady odor of fear, lust, and confusion. He turned off the water, then finally slipped out of her, grabbing her by the hand. "Come on."

She followed him into the bedroom, both of them dripping on the carpet, and he led her to the bed and pressed her down onto the tangle of sheets and duvet that he'd left there that morning. Her hand darted out to grab a condom and she ripped it open, stilling briefly when he lifted his clawed hand and brought it toward her face.

Julie made a tiny gasp, but he just ran his talons through her wet dark hair, then let them trail down over her bare breast. She could feel that he wasn't cutting into her, but knowing how sharp his claws were and seeing the look of challenge on his face definitely urged her to caution.

"Well?" he smirked. "What are you waiting for?"

She reached forward very slowly and steadily, rolling the condom down onto him, her eyes on her hands as she could feel him watching her. As soon as she finished, he leaned in, both hands now tangled in her hair as he kissed her. She opened her legs and he moved inside of her, their slippery bodies unable to get traction against one another at first.

He allowed his weight to crush her into the mattress, thrusting in a brisk rhythm. "You want me, don't you, Baby?" he purred in her ear.

She was about to climax already, her breath quick and her hands fisting in his short hair. "Yes!" was all the response she could manage.

But his nose could detect a note of apprehension remaining in her pheromones, so he stopped suddenly, still inside of her, their bodies pressed together up and down their full lengths. He met her eyes, and she looked surprised as she gazed back at him. He could feel how hot and wet she was inside, and she was trembling from being so close to orgasm.

Victor honestly didn't know quite what he was doing - just that he didn't want her to smell like this any more in his bed. He bent his head and kissed her softly, inserting the tip of his tongue in her mouth and licking the little wound that he'd left there in the shower. He brought up one hand slowly, smoothing her hair off of her forehead, and then he kissed a line from her jaw back to her mouth.

Her muscles were less tense beneath him, and he could feel her hands roving up and down his back and bare ass. He didn't usually let frails touch him, but he'd always allowed Julie to slide her dainty little fingers anywhere she wanted on his body, and he had to admit that it felt incredible.

Tucking his chin to his chest, he kissed all the way from one side of her collarbone to the other, and began thrusting into her once again, at an easy speed this time. He ran his nose down her breastbone and turned to one breast, kissing and licking her soft skin before he covered her nipple with his mouth, warming, lapping, biting and sucking it until she moaned aloud. He moved over to her other breast to give it the same treatment, but she cupped his face with her hands, her fingertips probing a little through his facial hair, and she brought his mouth back to hers.

Spreading her legs farther apart, she put her feet flat on the bed, her bent knees propped up on either side of Victor's hips, and she reached down and squeezed his ass, trying to bring him deeper inside of her. He smiled against her lips, obliging her by ensuring that he was buried completely within her body, and shoved one hand underneath her at the base of her spine, lifting her to change his angle of penetration just slightly so that she gave a little whimper.

Slowing his deep strokes even more, he kissed her mouth one more time and pulled back a little to look at her. "I don't want you to be scared of me," he said in a low voice. It was the closest that he would come to apologizing.

Julie felt a frisson of nervousness, recalling how upset he'd been the last time that she spoke to him outside of the character role she was supposed to be playing. In the bedroom, she was always to be his submissive partner, not the woman he paid to fuck. She blinked up at him, sliding her thumbs over his eyebrows and seeing the little wrinkle of concern that was between them. "Touch me, Victor," she replied, finally. "I'm yours."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The bedroom was dark now that it was late, but a little light spilled in still from the bathroom, illuminating Julie's figure as she walked in from the hallway with two glasses of water. She offered one to Victor and he took it, giving her a grunt and a nod in thanks as he gulped the whole thing down at once. She disappeared into the bathroom, where she'd left her purse, the one she took every time to Victor's house.

Since she didn't always know how long he would want her, she kept a few necessary overnight toiletries in her bag, as well as hairbrush, makeup, panties, and cellphone charger. In the past, she'd stayed over in his small guest bedroom, a spartan space with just a double bed and lone nightstand. Julie always made the bed afterward, and every time she saw it, it looked exactly the same as when she'd left it, so she assumed that he didn't have much other company, and certainly no overnight guests who stayed in that bed. She held on to that knowledge; she wasn't sure why.

Picking up her purse, she turned off the bathroom light and started to exit Victor's bedroom to the hall, heading for the guest room.

"Come here," he said through the dark, his voice gravelly.

She turned, not knowing that his extremely heightened vision could detect the slightly hopeful look on her face. Gliding over to him, both of them still naked, she stopped at the edge of the bed and tentatively held out her hand.

He snorted. "Get in." He flung back the covers, leaving one arm along the upper edge of the pillow next to him. Since he knew she couldn't see him, he hooked his other arm around her waist, which surprised her so that she made a little sound, and he dragged her down onto the sheets as she dropped her bag.

He felt her breasts press against his chest and he squeezed her closer, wrapping some of her hair around one clawed finger. She only hesitated for a moment, then rolled into him, entangling her legs with his as he pulled her face up to his for a kiss.

Victor usually preferred his space at night, spreading his heavy arms and legs out to all corners of the bed, so he was just as surprised as Julie that he wanted her not just to stay the night, but to sleep in his bed. But seeing her curvy hips as she walked away from him had given him the irresistible impulse to wrap her in his embrace, feeling her soft hair float over his skin and hear her breathe as she drifted off to sleep.

_Shit. I'm starting to sound as sappy as the Runt,_ he thought. That urge to have a sweet female presence in his life had been his inspiration for bringing Julie around, however, and he realized that it was about time he utilized her to the fullest. Staying with Jimmy and Lorelei showed Victor that there was a great deal of satisfaction to be had in _making love_ with a woman, and having her to lie with and cling to him when they were together. He wanted Lorelei, but lacking her, he could do all the same things with Julie, closing his eyes and imagining it was his brother's wife in his bed, bare thigh wedged against his dick, and _her_ toes tickling the hair on his ankles.

_They'd never believe it if they saw what a fucking girl I've become,_ he mused. _Always touching all gentle like a kitten that hasn't found its claws. Good thing they'll never know._ Victor inhaled, relishing that he could find his own scent all over Julie's body. He pressed another kiss onto the top of her head as she played with the hair dusted across his pecs. Closing his eyes and settling against his pillow, he fell asleep to the rhythmic sound of her heart beating.

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Julie opened her eyes to the morning sunlight, momentarily befuddled at seeing the unfamiliar room around her. She remembered that she was sleeping with Victor, just as he sensed her subtle shift and tightened his arm around her waist. She was lying on her side, Victor's front snug up against her back, his big arm thrown over her and resting on her ribs. One clawed hand cupped her breast, and his nose was pressed into the nape of her neck. She could hear him making a low, sustained noise, which sounded a lot like...purring.

He stuck out his tongue and licked her shoulder blade, his cock growing firm where it pressed into the cleft of her ass. His hand drifted from her breast down her stomach, easing her legs apart and carefully stroking her. She leaned over to pull a condom out of the drawer that overflowed with this supply, and quickly reached under the covers to put it on him.

Rolling into her momentum, he turned her onto her stomach, shoving their pillows out of the way so that her face wasn't smothered. He pushed up inside of her, covering her with his body and rubbing one hand up and down her side. She sighed, her vocal cords also seeming to purr this early in the morning.

Julie lifted her ass up higher in the air, arching her back a little when this elicited a growl of approval from Victor. She drew her knees up completely underneath her, making her way onto all fours and hearing his breath quicken as his taloned fingers gripped the bones of her hips to pull her back toward him with his every thrust.

She felt a delightful soreness where he was invading her, her breasts jiggling beneath her and Victor's claws causing a distracting, mild prickling sensation at her waist. She groaned as he hit the best pleasure spot inside of her and his pace increased. She called out his name, twice, and her climax around his hardness almost hurt.

Victor came just afterward, spurred on by the way her muscles tightened on him. She got carefully off the bed and handled the cleanup, like she always did, and she exited the bathroom to find him standing just outside the door. "Breakfast," he said without preamble, landing a stinging slap on her buttock.

She headed to the kitchen while he used the bathroom, and she stood naked in front of his fridge as she assessed its almost-empty shelves. Victor joined her, wearing a soft-looking pair of black sweatpants and tossing her what appeared to be the matching sweatshirt. She pulled it on while he got coffee started, then she grabbed a carton of eggs that thankfully seemed to be full, setting them on the counter to search for a bowl for scrambling.

They wound up with a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs and coffee, which he insisted she eat sitting on his lap, before she took care of the dishes. He reclined on the couch and watched her flit around the room, the bottom of the sweatshirt hitching up with her every move, flashing him little slivers of her body beneath it.

"Princess," he called, beckoning her to him. She tiptoed over, stopping in front of him with her legs bare in between his. He rubbed his hands up and down the backs of her thighs, then pulled her down to straddle his lap, holding and guiding her so that she could feel him firm inside his pants. Victor slid a hand underneath her top, hefting her breast and rubbing his thumb across her nipple.

He used his other hand to push his pants off his hips, hitching up off the couch briefly to do so. With her center exposed to him, he slid a finger very, very gently into that warm dampness. Pulling it back out again, he put it in his mouth and sucked the moisture off, his eyes asking her a question as he let his cock nudge up against her crotch - he wanted sex. She gave him a little smile, curling up her lips on one side, and she put her feet on the ground as she slid down off of him.

She planted her hands on the chiseled quadricep muscles on the tops of his thighs, and there was no hesitation as she opened her mouth to engulf him. She began a controlled rotation of licking, sucking, and stroking, pausing briefly in her attentions to yank his pants completely off, along with her sweatshirt. He held out his palms and she planted her breasts into them, letting him massage her while her talented mouth brought him closer and closer to the brink.

He roared suddenly, pulling one hand away from her chest to place it on her head as he emptied down her throat. Swallowing semen was _not_ something that Julie ever did for her clients, but between Victor's aggressive persona and the hand on the back of her head, she didn't really think she had much of a choice about this, unless she wanted to end the liaison, and she decided that she didn't. Once again, she found herself surprised at how she was willing to bend her own rules and cross her boundaries when it came to the very sexy Victor Creed.

"Fuck, that was good, Baby," he gasped. She smiled and licked her lips, rising to her feet and giving him a view of her reddened knees. She went into the bathroom, brushing her teeth before she turned on the shower and got inside. She lathered and rinsed, and was just stepping out wrapped in a big fluffy towel (_Who does his laundry?_ she wondered) when Victor entered the bathroom, still in the buff.

He tapped a claw thoughtfully against his teeth. "Take it off," he insisted. She let the towel drop to the floor, rivulets of water still running from the ends of her hair down her back, shoulders, and breasts. He crowded her against the countertop, planting his hands on the cool marble surface on either side of her body, looking deeply into her eyes.

Bending his head, Victor stuck out his tongue and licked a droplet of water off her nipple, hovering and exhaling on its pink surface before leaning and doing the same to the other breast. He let his hot tongue trail down her stomach, nipping her skin just below her navel, and he lowered his big body to the floor at her feet, keeping his hands on the counter and digging his claws into its stone surface.

He looked up at her, arching one eyebrow seductively, and she spread her legs farther apart to a smile from him. He applied his tongue to her, swirling and licking as she started panting and making quick, sharp little noises.

She came, throwing back her wet head and crying out, then slid bonelessly down to the floor against him. "Oh. My. God." was all she said. He chuckled and nosed underneath her breast, biting the white flesh there and delighting both in her small shriek and the drop of blood that oozed out of the wound. He licked it thoroughly, rubbing a taloned finger on her one last time and making her shiver.

"Come back to bed," he said, his words an invitation, but in a commanding tone. She rose compliantly, using the towel to rub her hair a bit more dry, and she let him lead her to the king-sized bed, where he waited for her to sit down before he gave a pleased-sounding snarl and followed, his cock thickening in his hand.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**_Two Days Later_**

Julie glanced at the neon numbers of the alarm clock to her left, trying not to flinch as a drop of sweat fell onto her chest. She was in a moderately-luxurious hotel room, lying beneath a portly Russian dignitary, counting down the minutes until the man ejaculated and she could leave, which seemed like forever. Besides the fact that his large, hairy stomach nearly prevented him from penetrating her, he was panting heavily and extremely out of breath, so his pace kept slowing as he lost stamina.

His name, ironically, was Victor, and the humor of this was not lost on Julie as she compared this middle-aged, red-faced foreigner with her manly, dark, and passionate beast. _Whoops_, she interrupted herself. Victor wasn't _her_ beast. _Better stop that kind of thinking right in its tracks._

She refocused her attention on His Honour, and murmured "Please, Sir" in Russian as she gently pushed against his shoulder to roll him over onto his back. He exhaled a sigh of relief, drowning her in the smell of the pickled beets he'd eaten with dinner, and she held back a grimace as she straddled him, trying to avoid putting her hands on the sweatiest parts of his body.

His orgasm took hardly any time after that, and she nimbly hopped off of him to grab the condom with a tissue and drop it in the trash can. She was in the bathroom like lightning, scrubbing her hands and shuddering slightly as she cleaned herself all over with the baby wipes that she kept in her bag. Her hair was repinned into its bun and she got dressed, blowing him a kiss and whispering "_Do svidaniya_" as she exited the hotel room. She could not wait to get home and take a long, hot bath.

_Ugh_.

This was getting hard. She sipped a glass of cold Sauvignon Blanc as she swished her feet in the bubbly bath water and rested her head on a rolled up washcloth behind her. It used to be that she would have screwed the plump Russian with much better faked enthusiasm, her moans and gasps practically Oscar-worthy. But lately she found herself dreading these kinds of jobs, regardless of the paycheck that awaited her afterwards, and she wondered whether it was her age, or if the clients were actually getting more unappealing, or if she'd just been in the profession for too long.

_It's Victor._ Julie blushed, though she was alone in her bathroom, at the thought that rose to the forefront of her mind. She tried to push that idea aside and look at things objectively. She'd been seeing Mr. Creed for several months now - having a client that steady was always a potential hazard in her line of work. Shayna had always drilled into her the credo that if she was starting to feel something for a client, it was time to end that relationship. There was no love to be found in this job, so nipping a crush or infatuation in the bud before a companion got hurt was essential to maintaining professional distance.

With Victor, she was fucking him on a regular basis, not to mention _sleeping_ with him, for heaven's sake, plus he was making her climax. Consistently. Even going down on her…without his own release being imminent as well. She felt beads of sweat break out on her forehead and she rubbed her legs together, thinking of how Victor's excellent tongue had teased her so well just a few days ago, turning her skeleton into jelly as the sensations washed through her insides.

She knew that sex _with_ orgasm carried even more danger with it, since the hormonal release that accompanied climax flooded her body with basic human urges to mate, bond, and breed children. Julie might be a prostitute, but she wasn't uneducated. Riding paying clients with practiced detachment was one thing, but calling out a man's name with genuine pleasure and snuggling with him between the sheets...

If Shayna guessed that this was how things stood, she would tell Julie to cut it off. She'd either end Victor's bookings, or find another companion to satisfy his needs. Julie felt a sharp stab of disappointment at this realization, and a little concerned about how proprietary she felt for Victor when she thought about another woman in bed with him. _Crap_. Yeah, she was definitely falling for him.

At least Victor didn't feel the same way. He didn't harbor any illusions about their arrangement - it was clearly just a business exchange, and he was imagining that she was someone else the whole time. Julie had always been a fan of the "fake it 'til you make it" school of life, so maybe she could just _pretend_ that she was romantically unaffected by Victor, and it would eventually become true again.

Except she knew that Shayna would disapprove of this; if she found out Julie had been keeping this secret from her, she'd be fired. It truly made the most sense to just come clean, let Shayna handle the client, and simply never see Victor again.

But she couldn't do that. And she wouldn't.

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Toweling off her pinked skin after her bath, she picked up her phone and saw that she'd missed a text message from Victor, which simply said: "Come over tonight." _Speak of the devil, _she thought,_ but a text message?!_ It had been clear right from the start when Victor became a client that he despised pretty much all forms of technology, and the only way that he'd grudgingly agreed to communicate was via email.

_He must really want to get in touch with me tonight._ Julie glanced at the clock, noticing that it was almost 10p.m., but despite the late hour she knew that she wasn't going to say no to him. "Be right there" she wrote back.

She got dressed, acknowledging her tingle of excitement at the thought of Victor ripping these clothes off of her soon. Grabbing her bag and jacket, she headed out into the night to hail a cab. The ride to his place felt interminably long, but soon she was exiting the elevators doors on his floor, his front door swinging open ahead of her.

Victor's face crumpled in disgust as soon as she drew near, and she could see that he was wrinkling his nose at her scent and looked absolutely livid. "I'm sorry!" she blurted preemptively, even though she knew that saying this was not in the character of his sweet little sundress-wearing companion. "I took a bath. Just now. But...?"

He relented a little, some of his angry look receding as he noticed how repentant she was that some of her previous client's smell still clung to her. He pushed her coat off her shoulders and yanked her bag out of her hand, dropping it on the ground and gripping her wrist to pull her along behind him down the hallway.

He stopped in the master bathroom, switching on the shower and immediately turning back to her, tugging off her top and pants. He got frustrated with her bra and ripped it with his claws to get it off her body, and she yanked off her panties before he could give those the same treatment. She kicked off her shoes just in time before he lifted her and put her in the shower, getting in himself fully clothed.

Victor held her directly under the spray, and she closed her eyes and mouth to avoid getting them filled with water. She could hear him fumble with the bar of soap, then she felt him start to rub it over her hair, his claws snagging in her long locks here and there and making them tug painfully against her scalp. Rinsing her off, he then turned her slightly so that she could open her eyes again, and he swiped the soap over her breasts vigorously, one claw leaving a livid red scratch in its wake and making her gasp. He bent his head and licked the blood that was just starting to seep out of the abraded skin, soap suds and all.

She saw how this was going to work, and she gave him a pleading look as she took the soap out of his hands, working up a lather that she applied between her legs, allowing her fingers to slip all over and even inside of her while he watched and growled. She bent over and worked the soap up and down her legs and feet while Victor took this opportunity to run one taloned finger down her spine to the cleft of her ass.

Standing and turning to him, Julie put the soap down and cautiously began to undress him, his shirt and pants falling sodden to the floor of the shower stall, where he kicked them away from him. He put both clawed hands on her ass and dug in the ten sharp points, tugging her close to what was now a very substantial erection. He licked the scrape on her breast again, raking his fangs over her white curves and exhaling loudly as he pressed his forehead to hers.

"That's it." He said it definitively. "You have to be just mine - no one else's. You're gonna stay here all the time and I'm going to fuck you whenever I want. It's done, Frail."

She bobbed her head up and down in a nod, and he scented her carefully, noting her anticipation, sexual desire, and...relief? He squinted at her appraisingly, but she just swallowed and gave him a little smile, pushing her wet hair behind her ears before she wrapped her hands around his back and leaned in to kiss him.

Devouring her lips, he followed suit from the other day, and lifted her to his waist to slide inside her tight body. She clenched around him, and rested her forearms on his shoulders as he leaned her back on the tiles and thrust hard, hard, and harder - she wondered whether Victor was going to nail her to this wall so hard that he'd break it. She sent up a prayer of thanks that she was already on birth control pills, since this was _not_ what she'd meant when she told Victor that an exclusive, monogamous relationship could forgo condoms, but she wasn't about to try to stop him now.

He came quickly, a deep rumble coming up from his chest, then he pressed his lips to her throat and snarled. He gave her a huge, fanged smile as he felt his seed spilling hot inside her body, and she couldn't help but smile back at his elation and the wonderful sensation of his convulsions.

Victor realized how tightly he'd been clutching her with his claws, and he patted her hips where he'd pierced them a little as he set her back on the tiled floor of the shower and pulled out of her. They both saw the droplets of his semen on her thigh just before the water from the shower washed it away. Julie caught his eye after this and he gave her a very dark, hungry look, not taking his eyes off of her as he reached behind him and turned off the water.

He clasped her to him as he claimed her mouth again, kissing and licking her as her teeth clashed against his elongated canines. He held her feet off the ground as he carried her out of the stall and over to the bathroom counter, turning her so that the chilly marble pressed into the hot skin of her stomach, and she gave a little squeal.

Victor pressed a hand between her shoulder blades, bending her at the waist slightly as he used his feet to nudge hers farther apart and widen her stance. He was already erect again; his recovery time continued to astound her, but she knew that it was likely due to his mutation rather than recreational Viagra use.

She was slippery all over and he slid his cock easily inside her, the friction that he created as he started pumping into her feeling absolutely wonderful. She started making breathless little whimpers, her palms flat on the countertop and her eyes closed tightly.

"Open. Your. Eyes." Victor punctuated each word with one strong upward stroke into her body. Julie's lids flew open and she looked at him in the mirror - he was watching her as he held her tightly, his pubic bone striking her ass, he was hitting her so deep. "I want you to see who's fucking you, Frail."

She shivered at his words, but she kept her eyes open, so she was looking at him when he growled and bit the muscle along her shoulder that was just below her neck. She could see her blood on his teeth as he gritted them together and grunted as he felt himself empty into her body.

He came down from his orgasm, closing his mouth and swallowing before he licked the wound he'd made, cupping her breast as he kissed the broken skin tenderly. He gave her a slightly mischievous look in the mirror, waiting to see if she'd comment on the bite, but she just placed her soft little hand against his cheek and leaned back onto his chest, relishing the closeness for the moment.

They finally made it to the bed, their hands wandering and stroking all over one another's bodies as their mouths roamed and tasted hot, salty skin. Julie rolled onto Victor's chest, licking and then tentatively nipping his collarbone, and he tightened his clawed fingers in her hair as his knees nudged her thighs apart and he entered her again.

She sat up, riding him as she clocked the sensual, predatory look in his eyes. His two big hands grasped her waist, forcing her into a faster rhythm, and he gave her a wicked grin. Just as she started to moan in climax, he rolled them over, staying fully sheathed inside of her, and he slipped his hands behind her back to grip her shoulders, bracing her as his pace reached a frenzied speed.

Julie came, throwing her head back deeply into the pillow and making breathless little gasps. Victor made a low hum of appreciation, but never slowed his rocketing movements, rubbing her raw as he reached his pleasure. He finally felt the sensations coalescing into an explosion at his groin, and he cried out: "Oh- God- Lorelei!"

He expended himself completely, collapsing on her with his face buried in her neck. _What the fuck was that?!_ he asked himself, his heart rate slowing down. He wasn't sure whether he was more embarrassed to be crying out to the heavenly deity or to his brother's fantasy-worthy mate.

Julie's heart rate, on the other hand, had sped up a little at this latest glimpse into the mind of the mysterious Victor Creed. _Who is Lorelei?_ she wondered. It seemed significant that he hadn't had such a complete slip-up like that, calling out this woman's name, until he'd screwed her bareback. When he turned over off of her, she went into the bathroom to use the facilities, and when she came back into the room she hesitated - he was lying in bed, but facing away from her.

She assumed that between his exclamation and the intensity of their couplings, she should sleep down the hall in the guest room tonight, so she started to pad out the door.

"Get the fuck over here," his deep voice rumbled into the stillness of the room, and she halted, then turned and slipped carefully under the covers, lying motionless so she didn't disturb him.

Victor rolled back toward her, hitching himself up onto an elbow to reach across her and snap off the bedside light. He then settled down, flush with her body, one arm slipping underneath and behind her neck, and the other resting protectively on her abdomen. He nuzzled into the bare breast that was nearest to him, his facial hair tickling her sensitive skin a little bit, then began licking her.

Julie thought that he was just teasing her a little, but his tongue-bath was sustained and thorough, cleaning her like a cat. She noticed that his tongue was just the tiniest bit scratchy, too. He lapped all over the soft, pliant tissue of her breast, nosing and licking the nipple before he sucked it briefly into his mouth, then continued his ablutions to the skin below, all the way down to her ribcage.

As he leaned over more and started to let his tongue travel across her sternum to the other breast, he lifted his hand from her stomach and started stroking between her legs, parting the tender flesh and eventually slipping a finger inside of her. She could tell he was trying to be as gentle as possible, and he pressed only the pad of his thumb onto her, stimulating her as her second breast started receiving attention from his mouth.

Now he was leaning halfway over her, and another few inches of movement was all it took for him to push her legs apart, removing his finger and sliding inside of her. He could smell fatigue and soreness on her, so he took things very slow, finishing bathing her breast before he started moving his body on top of hers.

In the dark, he captured her lips in a light kiss. "Mine," he whispered. "Mine."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Julie could tell that a man like Victor was old-fashioned: he spoke his mind once, and that was it, and he didn't change it again. So she understood when she woke up and found a key on the nightstand nearest to her that this was for her, and he still wanted her staying with him. She got dressed and left the apartment, giving Victor a wink as she passed him drinking coffee at the dining table and reading the newspaper.

She packed a small weekend tote at her apartment with a few necessary items and changes of clothing, then sat on her bed to call Shayna. It was early-ish for a Sunday, but she knew her boss would be up.

"Julie?"

"Hi," Julie was suddenly shy. "So, I'm going out of commission for a little while."

Shayna was very quiet. "Let me guess...Victor?"

Julie felt a thrum of warmth at the mention of his name. "Yeah, he wants me to live-in. Not sure how long."

She could hear Shayna's sigh over the phone, and finally she spoke, dropping her professional veneer temporarily. "Girl, what are you _doing_? You think I don't know you've been avoiding talking to me? If you're getting all gushy over this guy, you need to get _out_."

Julie straightened up, even though Shayna couldn't see her, and tried to interject more of a clipped note to her voice instead of sounding like a heart-struck schoolgirl. "I feel like I'm losing my focus with my other clients, Shayna. If he's making this offer, it's a good time for me to take it. I can reorganize and relax, since I'm familiar with him, and that will refresh me for the future."

Shayna snorted. "You can't fool me, Jules. You are drooling over that man. You gonna stay a brunette forever, keep pretending?" She lowered her voice to convey the gravity of her words. "You're going to get your heart broken."

Julie let that sink in, and took a deep breath in. Over the years Shayna had become almost more friend than boss to her, but she didn't want to let herself get swayed in this moment. "I'll call you later, 'kay?"

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Victor was not at his apartment when she returned, so she put her things away in as unobtrusive spaces as possible: an empty bottom drawer in the bathroom, a few hangers in a corner of the closet. There was a small utility cubby in the entryway, and she tucked her tote in there, first removing one of the books that she'd packed inside it, and setting it on the dining table on her way into the kitchen.

In the three years that she'd been working as a "companion," she'd lived-in one other instance, for a wealthy stock trader who traveled almost all the time. Splitting his work life between three or four time zones, he found after engaging Julie's services on several occasions that he just wanted her waiting for him at his place each time he returned to Toronto. He hired out his cleaning, cooking, and shopping, so it was just neat and tidy to hire out his screwing, too. Julie would let in the maid and catering delivery, as well as his assistant with his dry cleaning, on the day that he was going to return home, and everything would be ready for him to fall into whatever he needed that time: food, meetings, bed.

Julie knew from this experience, as well as Shayna's helpful tips, that with a live-in situation it was best to just be invisible, unless it was time for sex. If the client had wanted a DVR full of episodes of "The Bachelor" and a bathroom counter cluttered with straightening irons, he'd just have a girlfriend, after all. Luckily, Julie was very self-contained and minimalist, and it didn't bother her at all to keep the barest roster of primping implements and entertainment on hand. With the trader, she of course had gone pretty much wherever she wanted when he was out of town, but when he came home she just sat around in teeny, expensive pieces of lingerie until he was ready to fuck. It had worked out very well until he was transferred to Hong Kong, and she declined his offer to accompany him.

She'd been thinking all morning about Victor, and how she should handle this situation with him. Unlike the trader, when Victor originally hired her he'd wanted a roleplay, and she assumed that, even full-time, he would still want her to be his adoring, feminine consort - _Aah, the enigmatic Lorelei. _The acting part of the roleplay was tougher when she didn't know who she was supposed to pretend to be, but there was plenty that she could deduce about this woman, whoever she was.

Very girly, that was obvious with the swishy dresses and long hair he liked. But not high maintenance, hence him telling her to stay barefoot all the time, and keep her pubic hair au natural. _Was her heightened sexuality real, or just his vision of her?_ Lorelei must also be someone he couldn't have, or else he'd be with her, instead of hiring prostitute clones of her. _He didn't seem sad when he said her name, so she probably wasn't dead, but maybe just a woman from his past who'd rejected him? Hmm, _Julie pondered.

Victor himself wasn't too tough to figure out, either. Masculine, traditional, dominating, but a dirty sense of humor, and the unusual mutant stuff: scratching, biting, licking, teeth, claws, sniffing. "_Frail"...? _A man of few words, so she'd keep her chatter to a minimum. He owned hardly _anything_, so she'd deliberately packed light. But he had a hearty appetite, which is why she was now in the kitchen trying to figure out what to make him for dinner. A man's man like that would probably appreciate coming home to the little woman with a hot meal ready. Fingers crossed, anyway.

He had next to nothing in the way of food, though, so she darted out to a little urban corner store, buying some cooking essentials as well as a massive amount of meat and a mountain of potatoes. Victor arrived home to a seared rare steak, mashed potatoes and gravy.

"You...made food?" he clarified, as she waited with two full plates at the table.

_Okay, here goes,_ thought Julie. She rose - bare feet and dress, check - and walked over to him, pressing her breasts softly into the muscular planes of his chest, and rising on tiptoes to kiss him. "Welcome home, Baby. Dinner's all ready." She smiled and kissed him again, batting her eyelashes just a little.

He briefly looked a little...confused, but he took in the meal, her dress, and her actions, and he smiled back, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing her butt. "Smells great," he murmured against her lips, kissing her thoroughly. "No panties, huh?"

She rubbed the end of her nose against his, which she could feel caused his erection to rise against the front of her hip. "Nope," she replied.

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Julie was roused suddenly from sleep in the middle of the night by the sound of a ringing phone. Her cheek was resting on Victor's chest, and she could hear him grumble as they both shifted and he got to his feet, answering the call.

"Hey," he said, his voice rough from sleep. "What? When?...you're at the hospital. You want me to? Yeah, I can be there tomorrow night. Hey...um, is it a boy or a girl?...okay, see you then."

Julie laid there in the dark, her heart constricting in her chest as she listened and then felt him get back in bed. He slid in flush with her back, spooning her against his chest and cupping her breast, like he always did.

"I have to leave tomorrow...don't know how long I'll be gone."

Julie tried to keep her tone even. "You want me to wait here for you?" She held her breath, waiting for his response.

"No," he said. "I'll call you if I come back."

"Mmm-hmm," Julie intoned, not trusting her voice if she were to try to talk.

Victor smelled her tears in the air. At first he assumed they were an act, part of all that she made up for him, but waves of sadness floated off of her, too. He was surprised at the depth of her feelings, which gave him repugnant pangs of guilt. Pressed against her in the dark, his first inclination was to push her off violently and run far away, but instead he just held her, and purred.


	7. Epilogue

Epilogue

Victor crouched in a familiar tree, watching a chestnut-haired woman who was sitting on a wide wooden bench on the porch of a small house, reading with her bare feet tucked up underneath her. Occasionally, she put the book down in her lap to gaze at the sparkling lake below her, the sun starting to set behind the treetops on the opposite shore.

She couldn't see Victor, he was too well-hidden, but he was downwind of her, and he inhaled as the breeze carried him a mingled scent of sweetness, sun-drenched hair, and a faint hint of what he knew was his brother's musk.

"Mommy!" A high voice broke into the silence that pervaded the space, and the woman smiled and put her book down, rising to her feet to greet a dark-haired little boy. "Look!" the child crowed, holding a fishing line with what appeared to be three minnows strung on it.

"Wonderful!" She praised him, taking the fish and setting them on the porch rail. "Go on inside, Jamie. You must be starving!"

"We both are," a deep voice responded to her. It was coming from a tall, dark-haired man who was walking up the same path from the lake that the little boy had. Logan grinned. "I hope there's food in there already; those minnows won't fill us up for shit."

"Yes, food," Lorelei replied, sliding her hands around his waist once he drew closer. He bent and kissed her, then deepened the contact with his mouth, cupping behind her head with one big hand. His other fingers trailed lazily up her arm, which was left bare by her sleeveless dress, and he circled her shoulder before the hand came to a rest on her full breast, his fingers curving around its softness while his thumb stroked over her nipple.

She sighed contentedly, latching both her hands onto his ass and squeezing. "Maybe we can put him to bed early tonight?" she whispered.

The smell of wet feminine arousal reached Victor's nose, causing a stiffening in his own traitorous groin, which he cursed, knowing that Lorelei's body reeked with dampness in welcome of his brother, not him.

He berated himself - he'd gone out of his way to come back here and spy on the Runt and his family, hoping that the Lorelei in his mind's eye from nearly a year ago would prove an unrealistic idealization, and be shattered by the truth once he saw her.

Instead, she was still just as beautiful - if not more so - just as fucking sexy, and just as hot for Jimmy. Victor felt pretty damn stupid. Now not only did he have a nice fresh reminder, pheromones included, of what he was missing in Lorelei, he was delayed by half a day in getting back to Tanya, who'd given birth to his cub last night.

He waited in the tree for Jimmy and his wife to go back inside so he could climb down off his perch, rolling his eyes at the sucking sounds they were making as they kissed, and Lorelei's little mewling noises as he touched her. When she finally patted his ass and went through the door, Logan paused on the top step and took a deep breath, looking out first at the trees, then at his hands as he slowly released two gleaming sets of adamantium claws from his skin.

"You think I don't protect what's mine?" Logan asked softly, his voice so quiet only Victor's enhanced hearing could have picked it up. "Get the fuck away from here, before I have to kill you." He sheathed his claws back into his body with a sharp, singing sound, then turned abruptly and went inside, slamming the door behind him.

Victor leapt down from the branch, hitting the ground at a four-limbed bound, running to meet his daughter.


End file.
